Sergeant John Swaim sat down in front of his tape recorder. Tony Shore sat across the table from him. Both men did not seem tired despite the late hour. Swaim continued to get each and every one of Shore’s confessions on tape. He proceeded on to another case that no one had any idea Shore was involved in.
The following text is the transcript from the actual interrogation of and confession on tape by Anthony Allen Shore in regard to the 1993 rape of Selma Janske (name changed to protect the innocent):
John Swaim (JS): John Swaim of the Homicide Division here talking to Anthony Allen Shore, correct?
Tony Shore (TS): Yes.
JS: Tony?
TS: Yes.
(Swaim proceeded to read Shore his rights.)
JS: You understand these rights ?
TS: Yes, sir.
JS: You wanna waive these rights and talk to me?
TS: Yes, sir.
JS: Okay.
TS: Talk about another case y’all don’t know about.
JS: Okay.
TS: There’s a reason I wanna talk about that.
JS: Okay.
TS: There was a girl that I’d never seen before, which, once again . . . I had fantasies about her. I had seen her several times.
JS: Where was this?
TS: [1900 block of] Portsmouth. I don’t know for sure that’s the right address.
JS: Okay.
TS: Girl’s name is Selma Janske, I know that. J-A-N-SK-E. I’m guessing she’s probably sixteen, seventeen at the time. I’m not really sure how old. She was young. She was attractive. I was a phone man working outdoors, outside plans, and I worked down this street several times.
I’d seen her coming home and I knew that she was a latchkey kid. Came home from high school or whatever school she was going to and I wanted to put a stop to . . . the taking of life. I didn’t want to do this anymore. (Shore’s voice quietly trailed off with the last word.)
Hell, I did this, at this time I, it’s a sexual union, had something to do with it. The more I’m thinking, in retrospect, that it’s having to do with possession of a person. Making them . . . do . . . things.
So I broke into the house which wasn’t easy. The door was unlocked and I waited for her to get there. She got there. I stole twenty dollars off of the dresser, probably her parents’ room. She came in and I wanted to prove to myself that I didn’t have to . . . take the life. That’s the reason why I’m telling you this.
JS: Okay. That’s fine.
TS: So I had on—
JS: Now when was, you think, was this?
TS: Probably after . . . I don’t remember the timeframe for sure but probably after Diana Rebollar but before Dana Sanchez.
JS: Okay.
TS: Okay. So, I . . . tied her up with electrical cord. And I took, and, the resistance from the violence that I thought that I was going to do this again but I promised myself that I wasn’t going to take any more lives no matter what.
As sick and fucked up as it sounds, I really, really, really was trying to get better in a real sick, demented way. I don’t discount it. I’m not stupid, but I was trying . . . but I promised myself I wasn’t gonna do it and, uh.
In her bedroom, and uh, I told her that I knew how the police would ask her this and that and I told her say that it was a short, fat black man and that if I heard different then I’d come back and take her family out and I made a lot of threats and uh, when I mentioned the family thing she started fighting and kicking. Now her hands were restrained as she started just going berserk. I really didn’t know when everybody else would come home or when somebody could show up, I just knew that it got out of hand and I had to make a decision.
JS: At what time? This was when?
TS: Afternoon. Right after school. 4:00, 5:00 o’clock.
JS: Oh, that’s right. Right after she got home from school.
TS: So, I thought I had to make a decision. Once again, I started to strangle her and I thought “No, I just can’t. I just need to get the fuck out of here.” And I left. Thank God.
JS: You take anything?
TS: Naw.
JS: But you didn’t, you didn’t strangle her at all or you started to—
TS: I started to and I stopped.
JS: Did you have something around her neck to do it?
TS: On this one, no. I think I was gonna use my hands and I just freaked ’cause I promised myself I wasn’t gonna do this and all the sudden—like the pathology and the anger and the freaking out. I kept telling myself, “This isn’t necessary. This is not. None of it is necessary.” So I bolted. I left.
And uh, I walked out, people saw me. There’s people walking in the street. Driving by.
JS: Normal business.
TS: Finally walked through the back yard out to the front. I parked my phone truck over on the Whataburger parking lot over at Shepherd and Portsmouth or somewhere in that area. Walked right up to my truck, got rid of my shirt that I had on. Went back to work, scared to death. I was paranoid. I was afraid because I had left somebody as a witness.
Nobody ever came and talked to me. Nobody ever came and arrested me. There was a part of me, I think, that wanted to be caught.
JS: That’s what I was fixing to ask you—
TS: I wanted to be stopped so many times. I just wanted this whole thing to end. That’s why I’m talking to you now. And I want to make sure that nothing ever happens again.